More than a century ago, Ermenegildo Zegna had imagined a future where clothing would grow alongside people and nature. That idea took form as Oasi Zegna and has since become a lasting philosophy for the brand. The latest collection, shown at Dubai Opera—reimagined for the week as Villa Zegna, built directly on that foundation. The space combined two worlds: the founder’s Trivero home and the desert’s raw energy. With a live soundtrack by James Blake, the show unfolded as a reflection of what Oasi Zegna represents today—life, movement, and quiet transformation.
Alessandro Sartori, ZEGNA’s Artistic Director, built the collection on the idea that clothes are shaped by how they’re worn. Every piece in the show carried a sense of movement—washed, crinkled, and softened as if by sun, skin, and time. “Fashion… is a way to be both true to the ZEGNA roots in fabric making, thereafter exploring the wider possibilities of materiality, and a laboratory in which to experiment with ways of wearing and using the garments, letting daily experiences forge them,” said Mr. Sartori.
That mindset informed the textures and construction. Jackets were as light as shirts, with some silhouettes reduced to just their essential lines. Il Conte, one of the brand’s icons, was shown in a looser, more open version.
Double-layer Nehru shirts and long overshirts created a sense of ease. Tailored shorts were paired with summer coats or close-fitting blousons, while pajama and mattress stripes appeared on ultra-light shirting suits.
Leather jackets and coats were rendered in breezy, weightless finishes. Blazers had low, two-button closures and relaxed proportions. Shirts took the shape of anoraks, some in knits. Mr. Sartori continued to blur the line between suiting and outerwear, a consistent ZEGNA approach that reappeared here through field jackets, cardigan-style blazers, and low-pocket pieces. Matching printed sets—shirt and shorts combinations—brought a quiet, well-dressed energy to the mix.
Accessories were functional and unfussy. Soft moccasins, slipper-style loafers, wraparound sunglasses, and oversized bags completed the looks without pulling attention. The collection’s color palette ranged from muted neutrals—bianco Oasi, mastice, burro di montagna—to more saturated notes like olio, cognac, felce, ciclamino, and barolo. The mood stayed tonal, shifting between pale warmth and deeper contrasts.
Material choice played a major role. Summer Shetland in wool/silk/linen, cotton-silk poplins, second-skin suede, hand-spun silk, and even cotton-paper-wool toweling gave the collection a tactile weight. Some fabrics, like sanded hemp and Oasi Lino’s three-ply canvas, introduced coarser, sun-exposed surfaces—adding to the sense of clothes marked by experience.
“The stratigraphy and the casualness suggest a life lived intensely, which is what we are after. As designers, we do half of the work: the rest happens when clients interpret pieces day by day. This individual, non-standard interpretation today is on the catwalk, showing the ZEGNA view in its natural environment: life. There is a culture of dressing, a proper and insouciant manner to it which to me captures a peculiar Italian timbre that I want to keep as our signature,” Mr. Sartori said.
The show, and the collection it introduced, focused on process over perfection. From the founder’s original idea of Oasi Zegna to its present-day form, what began as a physical location has grown into an outlook, one that treats clothing not as static pieces, but as forms shaped by use. In Dubai, this concept came full circle. Clothes were not just designed, they were transformed, molded by movement, and prepared to carry new stories forward.
